Jury finds Waddington man guilty of rape

CANTON  A Waddington man faces up to 16 years in prison after a jury found him guilty Monday of multiple felonies stemming from his rape of a 15-year-old girl last year.

Patrick R. Wright, 31, of Tiernan Road, was found guilty in St. Lawrence County Court of six of the 10 counts he was facing. The jury of seven women and five men found him guilty of third-degree rape, three counts of third-degree criminal sexual act, endangering the welfare of a child and first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child.

Wright was found guilty of having sex with the teenage girl on Feb. 2, 2013. The victim had been alone with Wright at his mothers 169 Tiernan Road home, where the victim testified he gave her 3 ½ vodka-based drinks and smoked six bowls of marijuana with the teen before he had oral sex and intercourse with her.

The jury found Wright not guity of the top count of first-degree rape, as well as three counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, all class B violent felonies, and all indicators of forcible sex acts. The charges on which Wright was found guilty were all related to the age of the victim.

Had Wright been found guilty on all charges, he would have been facing a maximum of 116 years in prison.

Wright was sent to St. Lawrence County Correctional Facility without bail by Judge Jerome J. Richards. Sentencing is set for April 21.

Following the verdict, the now 16-year-old victim and her mother said while they were satisfied with the jurys decision, they would have liked to have seen Wright receive guilty verdicts on the charges of forcible rape.

Im satisfied, though, because now he has to register as a sex offender and he will be going to prison, the teen said.

She said she was thankful for the support she had received from District Attorney Mary E. Rain.

She did an awesome job and was really supportive throughout the trial, the teen said.

Her mother said the family had been in the dark leading up to the trial, but once they began dealing with Ms. Rain they were continually informed of proceedings.

Hopefully now we can start to rebuild, her mother said.

In a statement, Ms. Rain said she respected the jurys verdict.

I only wish that somehow the sentence could ease the victims pain, yet understand that this is something this child will have to carry the rest of her life, Ms. Rain said. It is my sincerest hope that he receives an appropriate sentence for these crimes.

Defense attorney Denise Smith said the age-based charges Wright was found guilty of were brought into question during testimony.

Its an appealable issue, Ms. Smith said. We heard her age in court, but there was no testimony or evidence of her date of birth.

Ms. Smith said she will be seeking a concurrent sentence for Wright.

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